If you are trying to sell a home in this current market, having some inside knowledge can be helpful. Here are 5 Real Estate tips that can help you sell by owner.
As a seller, it is important to know a few things about strategy, if you want to compete with the other homes for sale in your area. Right now (summer 2024), the inventory of homes have saturated the market. There are more sellers than buyers. This is not to say that your home will not sell. Homes sell in any market, but when inventory is up and buyers aren’t buying, the buyer has the advantage. If you are selling your home without representation, you have landed on the right web page. If you want to make sure, please feel free to check me out here.
Real Estate Tip 1: Strategy is Better Positioning
Knowing the ins and outs of the market and how to navigate it is worth the sales commission you would pay a professional agent, if you don’t want to do the bulk of the work yourself. But, if you don’t mind doing some work, a mapped out strategy will make your efforts go the distance. It will also save you time and frustration. Being able to tap into the mind of the professional will certainly gain the upper hand. If you are sincerely trying to sell your home and you aren’t seeing any activity, or the results you were hoping to see, you may want to circle back to your strategy. Do you have one?
Real Estate Tips 2: Priced to Sell or Priced to Sit?
Over the last few years I have watched the real estate market go from one extreme to another. Many people have trouble keeping up with the changes, even those in the industry. So, I understand how it seems overwhelming to keep up with. Knowing who has the field advantage will give a seller a pretty good idea of a strategy. Below are a few things to consider.
What Determines Value?
I see a lot of owner sellers use sites like Zillow to price their homes. Unfortunately, without touring your home like a professional licensed agent would, it is difficult to even come up with a Comparitive Market Analysis (CMA). This is done by many agents to get a starting point to list. A CMA is a professional opinion based on comparitive homes that actually sold within a close proximity, within 6 months or less (the less the better). CMA is used by many agents and are only the opinion of the agent doing one for you. It does require some time and effort to put one together. Some agents will include a
CMA in their listing presentation, hoping to win your business. CMA is good, but not good enough in a buyer’s market.
The next step up is a Broker Price Option (BPO). The BPO is more detailed and will consider the lot size, age of dwelling, size of living space, condition, any exterior features, exterior buildings, zoning requirements, and comparable homes. Homeowners use BPOs in situations, such as when settling an estate or going through a divorce. BPOs are generally less expensive than appraisals, however, BPOs are not considered as appraisals and can’t always be used in their place.
The only opinion that really matters is the appraisal. This is the actual number that a bank will loan on any given property.
Real Estate Tips 3: Get an Appraisal
Wait…isn’t an appraisal a buyer’s expense? Yes. Ultimately, if the buyer wants one, or the buyer’s lender requires one, the buyer will have to pay for one. So, why should the seller pay for one? Anyone who wants to sell a house in a buyer’s market should put aside the guess work. Every seller wants top dollar for their home. Maybe you put a lot of money into it over the years, or you just invested $85,000 on a new pool last year. Not all upgrades will return like you want them to.
Pools can add some value, but no where near $85k. Having an appraisal in hand will give you the most accurate estimate of value and the only opinion that matters. Because, banks don’t lend a penny more than the appraisal. In a buyer’s market, buyer’s typically won’t go out of pocket over appraisal when financing. Savvy buyers using their own cash won’t either. And with fewer buyers in a market saturated with over-priced homes to choose from, you can attract the few looking and ready to buy, if you position yourself to draw interest immediately.
Real Estate Tips 4: Know Your Buyer
Selling real estate isn’t rocket science. To find the right buyer you must put yourself in their position. If you were on the buying end, what would attract you to the home you are selling right now? How well does your house show? Now that you know fewer buyers are out there, what steps have you taken to hook one’s interest to your house?
Price is always the bottom line, because as the dollar diminishes by the day, buying power diminishes and the buyer pool shrinks. Investors never pay top dollar because they typically pay with cash. Cash offers usually come in low, in some cases insultingly low. Investors know that buying is where people do well in real estate. An investor will look for any opportunity to buy at the lowest price.
If you want to get the most out of your house, an owner-occupied buyer will pay as much as the budget will allow. In most cases, that number will be higher than what an investor will offer you. Try and work with this kind of buyer if you happen to hook one. They will most likely pay you top dollar over an investor. The owner occupied buyer is looking for a good home to live in, as the investor is looking at a different picture completely. The investor still has to make a profit.
Real Estate Tips 5: Marketing is Psychology
Marketing is psychology in practice. I wrote a book on psychology called Down in a Hole. Psychology is quite literally the study of the human operating system. Learn this software and you can master every area of life, all at once! Not all real estate professionals are the same, as I am not your typical Realtor. My goal is to help make your life easier. Sharing what I know about psychology and what I’ve seen work very well in different scenarios buying and selling real estate, should do just that!
With these tips I know you will do better than flying blind. I hope you see value and use them to your benefit. Marketing is not hard to understand and it drives your target buyer to you or away from you. I did a lot of research on psychology to write Down in a Hole. with over 100 foot notes and 15 pages of bibliograpghy, and 15 edits in the last 4 years, I know you will see value when you read it. Please follow this link to learn more about the book, view the trailer videos, see the reviews, and where to go to purchase one. Here is that link: https://shahryarsadree.com/books-by-sadree/down-in-a-hole-2/ Thank you for taking the time and making the effort to act. You are already steps ahead of those who chose to ignore reading this! So, here is one more bonus tip!
Real Estate Tips (BONUS TIP): Timing Matters
Selling real estate is a delicate balance of many variables. When you sell or buy makes a difference. Sometimes choice is limited. I had to sell a property because I needed the funds to build a new home for my mother. Somebody else may be getting a divorce and the proceeds must be divided between the two parties going their separate ways. Another may be going into forclosure, and someone else may be trying to avoid forclosure. In any case, if the sale is very necessary, and it needs to be done sooner rather than later, these tips can help if they are put into practice. Logic overrules emotions every day, and twice on Sunday. If you have a mortgage on the house you are selling, every month you are losing money!
Every day your house sits on the market without any activity, another day is added to the Cumulative Days on Market (CDOM). This is a real estate metric that measures the total time a property has been actively marketed before it sells, and buyers and their agents look at this.
If you aren’t in a hurry to sell, or you plan for a fishing expedition, the Cumulative Days on Market (CDOM), pricing history, expired listings (if your property is listed), will all tell that story. In a market with few buyers, these metrics will either send them away or bring offers to you first. Using these metrics to your favor is much better than relying on luck alone. Marketing is key to selling your house. The way you present your offer, the quality of your photos, videos, and the description all matter as much as the way your property shows, how realistic you are with your asking price, and especially the genorosity of the offer you make to the buyer.